You've heard it all - Apple's iPhone 4 is suffering from a bout of negative publicity from its poor reception when users hold and block the antenna. In fact, as we speak, a load of class-action suits have been filed against Apple and its partner service provider, AT&T, over this issue.

But everything's happening over at the States. Does this translate to similar issues when we do get the iPhone 4 here? During a recent conversation with a fellow tech writer, we came to the conclusion that we should have some faith in our local service providers. After all, AT&T is notorious for its weak coverage in the states, as confirmed by our colleagues who attended CES 2010 and had to live with constant dropped calls on AT&T networks. Back home, on the sunny island of Singapore, we do enjoy slightly better coverage from the three service providers here, what with the number of base stations and the relatively small area of coverage here.

Mobile devices will always face the same problem - signal degradation when our hands inadvertently blocks the antenna. Granted, Apple should have given more thought to the placement of its antenna to reduce as much signal loss as possible, but you can't please everyone. At the end of the day, a phone needs to be a phone, and have a feasibly strong signal anytime and anywhere. Meanwhile, as Apple deals with this current problem, be amused at some of the swipes its competitors are taking. Such as the recent blog post by Nokia, and Verizon's recent advertisement for its upcoming Motorola Droid X.

So, if you really want to know how the iPhone 4 fares when it reaches our shores, keep your eyes peeled. We have crossed into the month of July, and who knows, maybe two weeks from now, you'll see the first iPhone 4 here.

Edit: As pointed out by our reader, Eric Ong, the iPhone 4 antenna issue is due to "our hand shorting the two EXTERNAL exposed non-insulated antennae." I blame my brain for laying dormant after a week of mosquito feeding during the recent low-key reservist.